Oldham Council ‘unable to hand full ACE grant to Coliseum’

Oldham Council has said it is not able to give the entirety of a £1.85m grant offered to it by Arts Council England (ACE) to Oldham Coliseum Theatre company, which is facing imminent closure.

The theatre company is due to close its doors permanently from 31 March after losing all of Arts Council England (ACE) funding amid concerns about the condition of its current premises.

Instead, ACE ringfenced the same amount requested by Oldham Coliseum (£1.845m) to give to Oldham Council to spend on cultural provision for the 2023-26 period. Campaigners have been calling on the council to give the money to the Coliseum to keep it afloat until a proposed new home for it opens in 2026.

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But speaking at a council meeting yesterday evening (15 March), the council's Deputy Leader Elaine Taylor said the local authority “does not have the ability to transfer the funding wholly to the Coliseum to replace their lost funding” . She did not elaborate on the reasons behind this.

Taylor added: “But we are continuing to have conversations with a range of arts organisations including the Coliseum about how we might use that money to ensure that we have continued performance in Oldham and to make sure we can build new audiences to ensure we have a successful and viable theatre going forwards.” 

The council’s comments followed claims from performers' union Equity that during “crunch talks” between itself and ACE on the issue, the funder removed a "block" on the money going to the Coliseum. The union says this “raises the possibility of a last minute reprieve for the theatre company”.

However, a spokesperson for ACE told Arts Professional it is "inaccurate" to say any kind of block had been in place.

“We are awaiting an application from Oldham Council for a programme of cultural activity over the next three years,” the spokesperson said.

“We have not ruled in or out whether Oldham Coliseum Ltd could have a role in delivering this programme – that is something that would need to be discussed between Oldham Council and the board of Oldham Coliseum Ltd. 

“However, if they do have a role we would, as guardians of public money, seek assurances that Oldham Coliseum Ltd's financial and governance challenges had been effectively addressed.”

Equity’s North West Regional Official Paul Liversey says Oldham Council must “act fast to submit a new bid that could save this producing theatre company”.

“The longer this takes, the less likely it is that Oldham audience goers will have any of the 2023 theatre season left. I am appealing to [Oldham Council leader] Amanda Chadderton to save the 2023 panto by putting in a new bid for the Coliseum urgently.” 

Oldham Colliseum Theatre today said it has completed a consultation with staff and has confirmed it will close at the end of the month.

When asked by Arts Professional when it plans to submit a funding application to ACE and what that application will entail, Oldham Council said it is currently unable to answer those questions.

A statement from Oldham Council Leader Amanda Chadderton said: “Conversations about how Oldham’s arts organisations and the council can access and use the ringfenced funding from the Arts Council are ongoing. We’ve recently held a joint meeting with the new Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Coliseum and ACE, and we’re ensuring they remain part of these conversations”.

New theatre plans not finalised

During yesterday’s meeting, Deputy Council Leader Taylor also confirmed the council’s plans to build a new theatre in Oldham are yet to be finalised.

Last month, the council recommitted to building a new theatre in the town. The latest proposals are estimated to cost £24.5m but there is understood to be a funding hole of around £18m.

Taylor added yesterday that during last month’s cabinet meeting, in discussions that were not broadcast to the public, the council had decided to continue consultation and engagement with theatre specialists.

“This [will] help finalise the plans ahead of planning applications being submitted later this year with the theatre due to be open in 2026.”